All About Android 110: Holy Cow, Google

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Ron Tries Glass

IO: Developery goodness

WYSIWYG layout editor Fabulous code editor New build system based on Gradle that provides flexibility, customized build flavors, dependency resolution, and much more. Available for Windows/Mac/Linux now Open source.

Location APIs, gaming, Google+ signin, Google Cloud Messaging (notification sync) Every device running Android 2.2 or higher that has official access to Google Play uses these services. That means almost every single one of those 900 million devices that have been activated has a copy of Google Play Services installed. And Google keeps things updated, and pushes these updates out fast, which is part of what makes them so fantastic. Being under complete and total control from Google means that the folks who built your phone, as well as the carrier you may have bought it from, are completely out of the picture. You won't have to wait six months or more to get the new service APIs. In fact, Google says they are able to get them pushed to the majority of devices in about a week after they are updated. If you take one thing away from all this, knowing that Google decides what the service APIs are, who gets them, and when is the important part. features like the new fused location service, the Play Games services, new and improved Google Cloud Messaging or even the new panorama API

Achievements that increase engagement and promote different styles of play. Social and public leaderboards that seamlessly use Google+ circles to track high scores across friends and across the world. Cloud saves that provide a simple and streamlined storage API to store game saves and settings. Now players never have to replay Level 1 again. Real-time multiplayer for easy addition of cooperative or competitive game play on Android devices. Using Google+ Circles, a game can have up to 4 simultaneous friends or auto-matched players in a game session together with support for additional players coming soon.

Fused location provider (gives best location according to needs), Geofencing API for notifications when use enters/exits an area, and Activity recognition (still, cycling, walking, in-vehicle) to surface correct content and save battery

Google Cloud Messaging

In the GCM service itself we’ve added support for messaging over XMPP with the new GCM Cloud Connection Server (CCS). Your servers now have a persistent connection over which to send large numbers of messages, very quickly, and with no overhead. New APIs in Google Play services let apps send messages back upstream to third-party servers using CCS, without needing to manage network connections. This helps keep battery and data usage to a minimum.

After signing-in to an app on one device, it’s natural that when they pick up a different device and use the same app, they would expect to be signed in there as well. To help you provide this kind of seamless transition between platforms and stay connected with users across devices, we’re adding Cross-Platform Single Sign On to our Google+ Sign-In capabilities.

This week, the Google Play store began providing a view of our top charts highlighting apps which have been designed for tablets according to our tablet app quality checklist. Be sure you don’t miss out! Check that your app’s optimization tips say that your app is designed for tablets, and upload tablet screenshots for 7” and 10” tablets.

A destination where schools can find great educational content in Google Play. Bulk purchase and instant distribution let educators bring your apps directly to classrooms and schools. Through this new program educators will be able to manage tablets and discover, purchase, and distribute content through Google Play for Education--whether they're in charge of one classroom or one thousand.

The Instant Buy API provides Android developers with these important benefits: Fast checkout for Android users buying physical goods. Users who buy on Google properties have set up Google Wallet. They can now checkout in Android apps in as few as 2 clicks without having to manually enter their billing or shipping information. Google Wallet securely sends this information to the developer with the user's permission. Easy app registration. More logged in users. By implementing Google+ Sign-in along with Instant Buy, developers can enable users to sign-in directly with their Google account, instantly creating an app registration. Having more logged in users allows developers to deliver a highly engaging, personalized experience. More secure payments. All transactions are monitored for fraud 24/7 and covered by Google Wallet Purchase Protection to enable a safer shopping experience for your customers. Easy integration. No Google fees. Since Google is not processing payments or managing fulfillment, there are no additional fees or complex integrations.

IO: Services and (sort of) Hardware

Runs stock Android unlocked device with unlocked bootloader, and Google's promising prompt system updates as well. The device runs on both T-Mobile and AT&T's LTE networks and comes with 16GB of storage. The handset will go on sale, directly from Google, for $649 this June 26th.

As Bernhard Seefeld explained on stage, the “map is the new UI.” The search bar is the only element present on top of the map (not counting the information layers, of course), which should serve for all one’s search needs. The results will appear directly on the map, and you won’t see anymore the regular pins you expect in Google Map search. When clicking on a place on the map, Google Maps will show you how to reach that place from different directions, marking the potential access routes to any landmark. And that’s how Google “can build a unique map for every place on every click,” as Seefeld put it.

Create a radio station from any song or artist you love, browse recommendations from our expert music team or explore by genre. Google Play Music lets you combine our collection with your own collection. You can store 20,000 songs for free in the cloud and listen to them alongside the All Access catalog. It’s $9.99 a month, and you can try it free for the first month. Or better yet, start your trial by June 30 and you’ll pay only $7.99 a month.

Conversational search, across all devices, Improvements to the Knowledge Graph, more language support (Polish, Turkish, Traditional/Simplified Chinese) Today, we previewed what this conversational experience will look like in Chrome on your desktops and laptops. Soon, you’ll be able to just say, hands-free, “OK Google, will it be sunny in Santa Cruz this weekend?” and get a spoken answer. Then, you’ll be able to continue the conversation and just follow up with “how far is it from here?” if you care about the drive or “how about Monterey?” if you want to check weather somewhere else, and get Google to tell you the answer.

IO: Not in keynote but noteworthy

Bump up to Android 4.2.2. With the jump to the latest version of Android, the latest version of Google Chrome is also on board, with Google TV joining the regular six-week update cycle for Chrome. "in the coming months"

nice looking new user interface for the homescreen, that simplifies everything and makes it all a little more user friendly. Official support for Google's new paid subscription channels is also included Playback video controls are also improved, easier to subscribe to that content creator's channel.

One More Thing

HTC has no official plans for a Google Edition of its flagship phone, the excellent One. But an influential HTC developer claiming to have the inside track reckons we'll see the One running stock Android software before the summer is out.